The Essential: The Unschooled Mind
by whats-shakin-bacon
Summary: literati... Rory is a teacher at a school in New York, where she lives... She'll soon have to cope with the person who left a shadow in her heart... I'm really not good at summaries so just read if you're interested... it's just an experiment...
1. I love My Job

Disclaimer: Another experiment. I'm not sure where I want this to go, so gimme ideas- I like those.  
  
Open. Close. Open. Close. Rory's eyes seemed to be as occupied as the view in front of her roams with kids.  
  
'I keep reminding myself that I love my job, I love these.. kids.'  
  
Rory is sitting at the temple of hell, the front of the room. It's silent now but when they aren't forced to be serious, it's a total massacre.  
  
Staring plainly at the neatly placed papers in front of her face, Rory hasn't made an effort to look through them. Her tired eyes crawl to the wall where judgment hangs obliviously. And by judgment, I mean the clock. It's about 1:55 in the afternoon now and all Rory wants is to go home.  
  
Looking back at the papers, she starts to file them in the order they're supposed to be in. Rory takes the time to glance around the class, just incase the cheaters think the coast is clear.  
  
'I love my job, I love my job, I love my job...'  
  
The class is made up of 10th graders. Boys and girls. In the middle of hell.  
  
"Aaanndd that's it, times up! Pass in your tests in alphabetical order please," says Rory as she stands in front of a column of desks with kids in every seat.  
  
"Aww man!" a boy sighed.  
  
"Shoulda studied, Chris.."  
  
"Ms. Gilmore, I did!" Chris shouts back.  
  
"Well, your grade will reflect that!" Rory says, in a sing- song voice.  
  
He sighs deeply as his head sinks down to the platform of the desk. Rory comes to the first of every desk in the front of the class and collects the papers being raised out.  
  
A girl who sits in the front of the class, looks so confident, she decides to voice her self-assurance she says, " I think I did well.." with an emphasis on I.  
  
Forcing out a smile, Rory says, "That's nice, Jamie..."  
  
"Okay, with the remaining 20 minutes of class left, please take out your books."  
  
A wave of noise rushes, as the kids take out their books. Rory looks around the room to see if everyone has their book.  
  
"Please flip to page 38, where we left off on Holden talking about Allie." Rory says as her class opens 'The Catcher in the Rye'.  
  
When everyone seems to be in place, Rory opens discussion. "So, from reading this one page, why is Allie such an important person to Holden aside from the fact that he was his brother?"  
  
She looked around the room, everyone's face look dull.  
  
"People, if you don't understand this, it's not my fault you fail the test! Please focus!"  
  
Some kids sit straight and start reading the page that they were already to have read the night before.  
  
Rory stands patiently, waiting for someone to answer her question.  
  
When no one does, Rory says, "Well, if no one can answer this simple question, you'll all have extra homework..."  
  
A girl in the middle of the class raises her hand.  
  
"Yes Carrie?" Rory asks.  
  
"Umm, well it's because to Holden, Ally was the perfect kid. He represented childhood innocence, as much a Phoebe did. Ally was smart, even though Holden was older than him, he thought of Ally as some 'beyond his time' kind of smart kid."  
  
"Excellent answer. I like the fact that you pointed out that Holden thought Ally represented childhood innocence. Well said."  
  
At times, Carrie reminded Rory of herself. She was kind of quiet, but someone who could carry on an intelligent conversation.  
  
"Where and when was the time that Holden had completely wanted to die, right then and there?" Rory asked.  
  
Blank faces. This was sad.  
  
"(Dramatic sigh) Did anyone make an effort to actually read the book?"  
  
A few hands went up, but majority were down. Rory shook her head.  
  
The bell rang and as everyone was moving with the speed of light to get the hell out, Rory shouted in the sternest voice she had ever used.  
  
"Sit down! I dismiss you, not the bell! You're here to learn, not to lounge around and do jack- squat. Now what I want you to do tonight is read thoroughly, chapters one and two. Be prepared for a quiz tomorrow, since majority failed these two chapters last time. Do well!... Ok, you're dismissed..." Rory said as she collapsed onto the chair at her desk.  
  
This was pathetic.  
  
Everyone cleared out and Rory gathered her things and left the room herself. Rory walked out of the school and down the sidewalk. Her home wasn't far away.  
  
Rory lived in New York. The streets were bustling with people as she made it up the steps to her apartment building. She opened the first door with her key. As she was walking in to the elevator, a woman her age walked out.  
  
The woman shouted, "I've got a date, be back late. Haha that rhymed! Don't wait up for me!"  
  
"See ya, Sam!" Rory said as she waved her roommate goodbye.  
  
When Rory finally came into the moderate size apartment, she crumpled on the love seat by the window.  
  
She stared out the window like she always did. Just a watching the world pass her by. She liked watching people just walking down the street, walking home to their love ones, just watching them in their own lives.  
  
But she was so tired that her eyes drew her to sleep.  
  
OOKAY, I DUNNO, THIS MIGHT NOT FLY. BUT I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK OR WHAT I SHOULD DO WITH THIS SO PLEASE HELP ME OUT!! REVIEW!! PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!! 


	2. In Open Doors

Disclaimer: I own Sam, Reanne, and a whole bunch of made up kids; most of which might not all be heard of again in future chapters.  
  
Rory woke from the love seat to the sound of a loud crash. She sat up abruptly and looked around the room. Guilty as charged!  
  
"God Sam, you scared the crap out of me! I thought you were some burglar trying to steal my Betty Boop clock!"  
  
"Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to knock over the stack of 'In Style' magazines, which led to the falling of the umbrella holder!"  
  
Shaking her head slightly, Rory said, "It's okay, you just scared me. That's all."  
  
Sighing happily, Sam laid down on the couch.  
  
"Good night?" Rory asked.  
  
"Great night..." Sam corrected.  
  
Rory nodded and said, "So what's he like? Any mysterious scars or any hidden secrets?" she sounded so interested that Sam laughed.  
  
"He's a very nice boy!"  
  
Rory sat back in the chair and had that, 'Oh, it's one of those guys', with an emphasis on those, expressions.  
  
"What? You have that look, I don't like that look. Why do you have that look?"  
  
"No look," Rory said playing it cool.  
  
"You have that look!" Sam propped.  
  
Rory shrugged as she said, "No look..."  
  
"Okay, now you're shrugging, why are you shrugging? You're shrugging and you have that look."  
  
"You're paranoid," said Rory.  
  
"I may be paranoid, but you have that... that kind of wispy aura that's hinting me with the intention of something's up!"  
  
"Geez, I'm fine! So tell me about this nice boy," said Rory, moving on with the conversation.  
  
"Well, he took me out to see a play..."  
  
"Ooh, which one?" Rory asked.  
  
"The Wizard of Oz..."  
  
"Nice," Rory said nodding.  
  
"Then he took me to this quaint little restaurant called 'Mi Amora'. And then he took me home... It was a great night!..."  
  
Smiling Rory said, "So, you gonna see him again?"  
  
"Hopefully," Sam replied, smiling too.  
  
Nodding, Rory stood and stretched.  
  
"I think I should get to bed now..."  
  
"Me too..."  
  
"You sure you're okay?" Sam asked.  
  
"Yea, I'm fine..."  
  
"Okay, but if you ever need me, I'm never too busy for you.."  
  
"Thanks..." said Rory as the two separated to their own rooms.  
  
Rory fell deeply in sleep.  
  
(Next Morning)  
  
Rory rolled over in bed. She saw the streaking rays of the sun crawling through the shades.  
  
It suddenly hit her, the sun? Oh no, no, no, no! She looked over at her alarm clock and realized that it was broken!  
  
She went to her dresser to grab her watch. 8 friggin 34?!  
  
"This can't be happening! Omigosh!! I'm late!" she said aloud to herself.  
  
She ran to the bathroom to take a super fast shower. When she finished, she threw on a dark purple lengthy dress with light lavender lilies on it. She slipped some white shoes on and ran out the door.  
  
When she started running down the sidewalk, she remembered that she forgot to grab her lesson plan. She ran back to her apartment and saw that Sam was awake.  
  
"Oh God, Rory you're late! Hurry, hurry!"  
  
"Thanks for the update Sam!" she sarcastically said. She grabbed her lesson plan and ran like there was no tomorrow, which there very well might not be, since she might lose her job!  
  
She arrived at school in a matter of minutes, and that was pretty short, considering the distance.  
  
The class's eyes all turned to the woman panting at the front of the desk.  
  
Some looked concerned; others couldn't give a rat's ass.  
  
"Sorry (breath) I'm late... Clear your desks and please take out a black or blue pen for your quiz."  
  
Her heavy breathing subsided as she passed out the quizzes and watched as her class started answering questions.  
  
She sighed and sat on her chair. Time went by quickly as it was at that moment where they were supposed to be done.  
  
"Time's up, pass in your quizzes in alphabetical order please."  
  
They did, and she collected them without a sweat.  
  
"Okay, pop journal!" the class groaned. "Your topic is, 'The importance of Teachers' you have 10 minutes to complete as much as you can.. Begin..."  
  
The class furiously started writing. She started grading their quizzes. When the 10 minutes were up, she said, "Okay, get in your last words and pass them up."  
  
Some sighed in relief that they had met the unwritten requirements and some whimpered at the fact that they could only say, 'teachers teach us things we need to know'.  
  
The bell rang and Rory said, "Class dismissed."  
  
They all scurried out and in came the seniors. This class was more of a challenge than the one before. They must have been the worst class ever. There were the occasional good kids in the class, but most of them were delinquents. Rory stood in the front and said, take out your homework from the night before.  
  
Some obliged and some just sat there looking at her plainly like, 'You're joking right?'  
  
Rory shook her head as she collected a total of 18 papers from the class, when there were 29 kids in there.  
  
"This isn't grade school people, you need to turn in assignments on time. You all know the consequences of late work! It's only partial credit! Please, it's better than nothing, so turn something in tomorrow?" she said with hope.  
  
A boy who sat in the back rolled his eyes as he put his head down on his desk.  
  
Rory truly hated this kid, with a passion. She never knew of such hatred, even after you know who left.  
  
She marched to the back of the room and from the desk next to him she slammed 5 textbooks on it.  
  
He sat up with thunder as Rory smiled sweetly and said, "Take one and pass it down..."  
  
He rolled his eyes again as he took the books and passed them.  
  
"Hey James, don't roll your eyes too much! You do know what happens when you do and someone slaps you on the back right? It's the same thing when you make a funny face!"  
  
Again, he rolled his eyes! Rory slapped his back, in the spirit of good fun. The whole class roared with laughter as he threw death glares at them.  
  
"Now, the books that I'm passing out to you are yours for the rest of the year. Place your name on the front in the back of the cover. I am not responsible for lost books, you lose it, you pay for it."  
  
Rory finished passing the books out and said, "Turn to page 12, the title should read 'The Lonesome Traveler, by Jack Kerouac'." The class did as they were told and she glanced around the room for a reader.  
  
Everyone looked away as they noticed what she was doing.  
  
"Carol, please read the background information..." Rory said.  
  
Carol sighed as she read, "Father of the beat generation, one of the most acclaimed (and criticized) writers of modern times, Jack Kerouac died in 1969 at the age of 47. In Lonesome Traveler, he has told the whole exhilarating story of the years when he was writing the books that captivated and infuriated the reading public- the restless years of wandering- during which he worked- this is really long!!! I don't wanna read this anymore, get someone else to read this!" Carol said as she slouched back in her chair.  
  
"Fine, let's just carry on then." Said Rory as she sighed. "Need I remind you, this is only a portion of the story, it's to give us the gist of great American literature..."  
  
"This was not great American literature, this is a waste of time. The beat generation was into drugs and trivial crime. They uncovered, shall I say, the great mysteries of unemployment of the 1950's in all their glory."  
  
"Wow, that's very critical Jane. I must agree with you on the fact that they were into unemployment and just hanging back.. On your own, please start reading until the bell rings."  
  
When the bell finally did ring, she dismissed them to go. Rory sighed as she realized that she only had one more class for the day, and then she could go home.  
  
Rory went out for an early lunch. While walking down the road, she saw a vacant area, building to be precise, sold. She wondered who had bought it, seeing as it had been vacant for quite some time now.  
  
She kept walking and found a small restaurant. She walked in and seated herself at the counter. Little did she know, that there was a pair of dark brown eyes following her, in awe.  
  
She didn't see him and he wanted it that way. He wouldn't know what to do if she just lashed out at him, just for his mere presence.  
  
"Hi, coffee?" Rory asked the woman that had come up to her from the counter.  
  
The waitress nodded and turned around the get her a cup.  
  
"You look exhausted!" the waitress said as she handed Rory her cup of coffee.  
  
"Thanks," she said as she took the cup, "I really am..."  
  
"Shesh, if I were you, I'da slept in. Forget about work!" the waitress said.  
  
Rory laughed and said, "I wish I could... But I work at a school..."  
  
"Ahh, I see... My name's Reanne, you can call me Rea."  
  
"Hi, I'm Rory... It's short for Lorelai... Lorelai! Omigosh, I forgot to call me mom!"  
  
Rea looked confused. "My mom's name is Lorelai, she named me after herself.."  
  
"Oh! I get it..."  
  
"One moment please... I'm gonna check up on her..."  
  
Rory reached for her cell phone and dialed home.  
  
4 rings! Jesus, where the heck is she?!  
  
"Okay, I've told you once, I've told you twice, but I don't make me tell you again! Lorelai Gilmore does not live here, so please stop sending her imported cheese from Europe!" said Lorelai.  
  
"Mom?" said Rory.  
  
"Oh honey it's you! It's so good to hear from you! Did you know I've been getting free cheese from Europe?!"  
  
"I do now, how come?"  
  
"I don't know! It just keeps coming and coming, so I keep giving it to people. It was funny, 'cause yesterday, I gave Kirk some blue cheese and he says to me, 'I'm allergic to blue cheese, can I have Spanish cheese.' And I said, no Kirk, but there will be more to come! And he said, 'oh good, I like cheese!' I only smiled and slowly backed away." Said Lorelai, laughing.  
  
Rory chuckled and said, "That Kirk gets me every time..."  
  
"Yea.(sigh)..."  
  
"So, I'm on my lunch break now, but I'll call you later okay?"  
  
"Sounds good to me! Bye mini me!"  
  
"(Laughing) Bye mom..."  
  
Rory turned back to the waitress and said, "My mom has been getting free cheese from Europe!"  
  
"Really, how come?"  
  
"She doesn't know..."  
  
Rea laughed.  
  
"Well, I should get going, but hey if you ever wanna hang out or something, here's my number," Rory said, she was happy that she made a new friend.  
  
"Thanks, here's mine," said Rea as she passed off her number to Rory.  
  
"I'll talk to you later, bye," said Rory, walking out towards the door.  
  
"Cya!" said Rea.  
  
His eyes followed her figure as she took a turn on a street corner. He took a sigh of relief and went back to the book he hand in his hands.  
  
Rory got back to work and had a few minutes of alone time to herself so she pulled out a book. In her right drawer, she had 'Franny and Zooey'. She picked it up and started reading from Zooey.  
  
Soon the bell rang and her juniors waltzed in.  
  
Now this was a good class. They turned almost everything in on time and were heavy in their discussions.  
  
Rory smiled for the first time that day to one of her classes.  
  
"Okay, so where in 'The House on Mango Street' did we leave off on?" Rory asked her class.  
  
Carly raised her hand. "No Speak English..."  
  
Everyone flips to the page and Rory asks the class, "Can anyone tell me, in a descriptive sentence what this part is about?"  
  
Casey raises her hand and says, "It's about a woman who is pretty much forced to live away from home and she basically can't speak English."  
  
"Perfect, can anyone add to that?"  
  
"She misses home and Esperanza's friends call her Mamasota, when her name is Mamacita," says Paul, who sits in the middle of the classroom.  
  
Rory nods and says, "She also sings home- sick songs... Now I want you to take out your notebooks and write down all the metaphors Esperanza uses."  
  
They do as they're told and it takes about 7 minutes.  
  
"Can anyone give me any that they found?" Rory asks.  
  
"First line on page 77, where it says, push, pull. Push, pull. Poof!" says Mark.  
  
"Great, and you can see her being pushed and pulled out of the taxi cab, can't you. Good job! Now we're going to go on to 'Rafaela who drinks coconut and papaya juice on Tuesdays... So what do you call these kind of short story's?"  
  
"Vignette's!" screams Penny from the back.  
  
"Yes, now can anyone tell me what is so important in this vignette?"  
  
"Her husband is too controlling, so she sits at the window everyday dreaming about going to the place where the music is down the street. And sometimes she'll throw down money to the kids and ask them to get her a coconut or papaya juice and they send it up from the clothesline she sends down," Penny says again.  
  
"Good job, now I'd like for you to get a head start on your homework for tonight. I'd like for you to write just a page on Sally and why she does the things she does. If it's on folder paper, do not skip lines; if it's typed, double-spaced. Now I only want you to start tonight, because this will soon become a collection of short essays that I want you to put together." Says Rory and they all begin to work.  
  
She looks over the class and seems so proud of them.  
  
'These are the one's that are going to make a big difference in our world.'  
  
The bell soon rang and everyone left the class. Rory gathered her things and left as well. School was not over, but for Rory, it was.  
  
Rory walked home and collapsed on the couch. She soon fell asleep. It was the same thing everyday: come home and fall on the couch just to asleep.  
  
Things needed to change, and fast.  
  
Later that day, Samantha came home.  
  
"Rory!" screamed Sam as she came in.  
  
Rory shot up like there was a fire.  
  
"What? What?"  
  
"You fell asleep again!"  
  
Rory laid back down and said, "I know, I'm just really tired.. I'm glad it's Friday."  
  
"We should do something! I can't let you sleep around here letting your life pass you by!" said Sam.  
  
"I agree!" I said and Sam looked surprised. "I want to get out of here, lets go clubbing!"  
  
"Whoa, what happened to Rory?" said Sam.  
  
"She's still here, tired and willing to get out of here!"  
  
"So it's settled, we're going clubbing!" said Sam.  
  
Rory smiled and said, "Yep!... Oh, I met a girl who works at this restaurant, maybe we should invite her, and she's really nice."  
  
"Yea, sure, what's her name?"  
  
"Reanne, Rea for short."  
  
"That's a nice name." Said Sam.  
  
"Yea, isn't it?! Anyways, I'll go call her now so we have loads of time to get ready."  
  
"Okay," said Sam as she went to her room.  
  
Rory pulled out the number and grabbed the phone.  
  
"Hello?" the person on the other end said.  
  
"Uh, hi, can I speak to Rea?"  
  
"Speaking!"  
  
"Wow you sound differently on the phone, it's me Rory, the girl from the restaurant."  
  
"Ahh, how could I forget, you had such a unique name!"  
  
"As do you! Anywhoo, I'm calling 'cause a friend and I want to go out clubbing tonight and I wanted to know if you'd like to come along..."  
  
"Sure, sounds fun!"  
  
"Great," said Rory and she gave Rea her street address.  
  
"Okay so I'll be there in like 30 minutes so we can get ready together," said Rea.  
  
"Sounds good to me!"  
  
"Okay, see you then..."  
  
"Bye.." And they both hung up.  
  
Rory shouted to Sam, "She'll be here in about 30 minutes to get ready with us."  
  
"Okay."  
  
And When Rea finally arrived, the three had lots of fun trying on clothes they forgot they had and had an altogether fun time getting ready.  
  
Tonight would be full of surprises, some of which that should have remained unnoticed, others that shouldn't have been surprises in the first place.  
  
In open doors and open eyes, can only the greatest fears be seen; the greatest fears can be defeated.  
  
OOKAY, THIS WAS REALLY, REALLY LONG! PLEASE REVIEW! I LIKE IT WHEN YOU GUYS REVIEW!! PLEASE AND THANK YOU! 


	3. Nothing Else Matters

Disclaimer: In this chapter I own Sam and Reanne.  
  
A/N: I made the quote up... It was a last minute thing to tie up the chapter. Oh and mild language in this chapter, mild.  
  
Rory decided that she was going to wear black fitted pants that kind of flare out at the ends with a white silky turtleneck top with no sleeves. She wore black sandals to match. Reanne and Rory took Sam's car; Sam drove to a nearby pub/dance club. Even in Rory's college days, she's never gone clubbing before.  
  
When they found a place that looks fairly suitable, they parked the car. The three walked into the club without any trouble at all.  
  
"I'm gonna go use the bathroom, I'll be right back," said Rory. Samantha and Reanne both nodded. Rory left for the bathroom and Sam and Rea seated themselves at the counter.  
  
Sam was looking around the room, when she spotted a familiar face, one so familiar that it was that person, that same person that broke Rory's heart. Sam started to worry, for Rory's sake at least. He was in a corner on the other side of the room with a red- head pressed against him. (A/N: no offense to red- heads for whatever reason and I didn't want to make her blonde because that's so cliché).  
  
"What's wrong?" Rea asked.  
  
"See that man in the corner?"  
  
"Yea? He's cute, too bad he's obviously taken.."  
  
"Ha! That man is Rory's ex! I think she still loves him too! I always see her in the love seat with a picture of him folded in her hand."  
  
"Well what're we gonna do?" asked Rea.  
  
"I guess we just keep her away from that corner...."  
  
"But if she sees him, she'll be so crushed!"  
  
"We can only hope she doesn't see him.."  
  
"She doesn't see who?" asked Rory, returning from the bathroom.  
  
"Oh, this girl out there," Rea pointed to the mass of people dancing in the center of the room. "We hope she doesn't see this lame- ass guy who's trying to get phone numbers from every girl there!"  
  
"I see, well I hope we don't run into him!" said Rory.  
  
"Yea, hope we don't run into him..." said Sam, looking off to the corner.  
  
Rory turned to the bartender and asked him for a strawberry daiquiri, no alcohol.  
  
Rea could no longer take the sight that had been engraved in her mind; she needed to get him the hell out of here. So while Rory and Sam sat at the counter drinking and small talking, Rea took it upon herself to kick his sorry ass out.  
  
"Be careful!" said Sam.  
  
"Be careful?" Rory asked; she over heard that one line.  
  
"Oh, I'm gonna do a little mingling," said Rea.  
  
"Yea, and I'm saying to be careful of that guy that wants every girls phone number!"  
  
"Oh yea, be careful! And don't let anyone give you a drink!" said Rory.  
  
"I swear, I promise I'll be good!" said Rea, and it was this sentence that had a double meaning: 1, she'll BE good and 2, she'll be good- she most certainly will be good. On her best behavior- no commotion whatsoever!  
  
Sam nodded and Rea walked and shoved herself into the heap of people jostling themselves in. Sam didn't want Rory to think that there was anything in particular going on so she started making conversation with her.  
  
"So, how's work, I feel like I don't even know you anymore!" said Sam.  
  
Rory chuckled and said, "So you wanna know how well work is going when you feel like you don't know me anymore?"  
  
"Hey, it's a start!"  
  
Rory laughed and said, "Well it's no different than it always is. Still got that Boston Public-esque feel to it..."  
  
"Ah, so we're in that area now, are we!"  
  
"Yea, but I think my best class would have to be the juniors.."  
  
"Well that's good!"  
  
"Yea... Why the sudden interest in my work?"  
  
"I just wanted to know, is all," said Sam.  
  
Rea made it to the back of the room, to the corner that HE was doing his dirty work in. She stood to the side trying to listen to the conversation they were having.  
  
"One dance," she said, "I promise I don't bite..."  
  
"Uh, no sorry, I don't dance... And that's good that you don't bite!" said Jess.  
  
"Oh come on, what's one dance gonna do to ya?"  
  
"One too many things."  
  
"Fine," the woman said, and she crossed her arms.  
  
Jess sighed and looked away. He shoved his hands in his pockets as the red- head slid her arms around Jess. You could almost see him freeze in that moment.  
  
Rea needed to get in there. But what the hell was she going to say? Suddenly she found something that someone as ditzy as her would love to hear.  
  
Rea ran over to the two and turned to the red- head, only to say, "Omigosh, did you know that Justin Timberlake is here?!" She hoped it would work- please let it work.  
  
"Really?! Where??" said the red- head.  
  
"The last I saw him, he went that way!" said Rea as she pointed out the door.  
  
She ran out the door and started calling, "Justin! Justin!"  
  
Everyone around her looked at her weird. Rea laughed.  
  
"Um, thanks?" said Jess.  
  
Rea shook her head and said, "And now it's your turn to disperse."  
  
"Excuse me?" Jess asked in disbelief.  
  
"You heard me!"  
  
"Well last I checked I heard that this place was open to the public!"  
  
"Yea, well last I checked, I heard you broke that girls heart!" said Rea as she pointed over to Rory.  
  
Jess's eyes went big as he sighed and leaned back on the wall.  
  
"Now you can do yourself and her a favor, by leaving."  
  
Jess shook his head.  
  
"Just leave it a clean cut mister!" said Rea warningly.  
  
He continued to shake his head. (A/N: ya know, the way he shakes his head and has those puckered lips..hehe)  
  
"Just go! You have no idea what she'll do if she sees you! You don't know how hung over she is about you! It's borderline pathetic, but for the pain you've caused her, I say it's just as expected! But hey, what do I know, I'm just another face in the crowd..."  
  
"No, you go! And did it ever occur to you that I could be a little hung over her?! No, it didn't! I'm not the one going around preaching about the pain I've caused her, I know what kind of pain I caused her- I did it!!"  
  
Rea stood there taking it all in.  
  
"So you go, and you leave and you think about how evenly spread out this pain and anger is!"  
  
"You are unbelievable!" Rea said in a low and scornful voice.  
  
"No, you are! You come here and you tell me to leave just because you think that there'll be a little drama over something that is so ancient history its got dust over it?!"  
  
"Hey, she's my friend and I'm only looking out for her!"  
  
"Like you said, you're just another face in the crowd.."  
  
Rea shook her head and walked away.  
  
Sam saw how stormy Rea's eyes looked and said to Rory that she'd be right back. Rory nodded and turned to her drink and smiled. She frowned, all of a sudden and said to the bartender, "Fill er up!"  
  
Back where Sam and Rea were, Rea was going off on a tangent. She was screaming about how insensitive he is and that he has a lot of issues.  
  
"Hey, hey, thanks for letting China know about this problem..." Said Sam trying to hush her.  
  
"Oh, sorry," Rea said in a lower voice. "So now he's just gonna stay there and pout!"  
  
"Well, no.. I think your speech got to him... Look.." Sam said as she pointed to Jess walking out of the room.  
  
They were relieved that he was gone and were so caught up, that they didn't realize Rory had seen him walk out.  
  
They both walked back to Rory and smiled.  
  
She tried, really she did, she tried so hard to smile. But she couldn't... How can she?! She just saw the one person she least expected to see!  
  
Sam and Rea looked sympathetically at her as she stood up and sped out of the room; leaving Rea and Sam worried.  
  
They followed her outside to where she caught up with Jess.  
  
Rea and Sam both stood back and waited while she went off to yell at Jess, because that's what it looked like.  
  
Rory yanked Jess to the side and said in a low tone, "Hey, it's nice to see you again."  
  
"There's no need to be sardonic, Rory..." Jess said, glancing from side to side at the people whom were staring at them.  
  
"Really? 'Cause I think I deserve to be sardonic, I mean it's not too far from being sarcastic, but hey it's right up there!"  
  
"You're rambling..."  
  
"Yea well let me ramble damnit! You..." she said shaking her head and smiling so mockingly that you couldn't tell if she was angry or not, "You are incredible.." she said and walked away.  
  
They both parted and left the after taste of hate wafting through the air.  
  
Better to have tasted the resentful bite of hate then to have kept it all inside.  
  
Rory walked back to her friends and sighed sadly.  
  
"Come on, lets go home.." Said Sam.  
  
Rory nodded and started walking. She glanced back at him and felt that at least part of her let out a lot of the anger she had kept rotating in her mind.  
  
Sam dropped Rea off at her apartment and then drove herself and Rory to their home.  
  
Rea sighed as she busted open the crappy door, "What a night...."  
  
"Yea, what a night..." said Rory. "I just.. I can't believe him! He just makes me so angry that I just wanna scream!"  
  
"It's okay if you do, I'll just tell the neighbors you saw a spider..." said Sam quietly.  
  
"No, it's okay..." said Rory as she laid down on the couch.  
  
"I'm gonna go to sleep now," said Sam walking into her room. Rory nodded.  
  
Rory went into her room and pulled out a box from underneath her bed. She opened it with caution and started to pull things out. Ticket stubs, movie passes, small wrappers with sentimental value, and many other things.  
  
She pulled out several books; the one that meant the most to her was Howl, by Allen Ginsberg.  
  
It was a rush of memories that hit her at that very moment; she didn't want to forget him or any of the things he did for her. She bent her head and leaned against her bed. She walked over to the window and sat in the loveseat. She stared out at world; it was awake and living in every moment, something she hadn't done since he left her.  
  
She opened her window and in rushed a gust of air. Rory breathed it all in and soon fell asleep.  
  
She was just a dreamer watching life pass her by, nothing else matters.  
  
You can never care about anything and it wont matter; you can never care about yourself and then nothing else matters.  
  
HEY, HEY IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN!! REVIEW!! I WAS QUITE OVERWHELMED AT ALL THE GOOD PRAISES I WAS GETTING FOR THIS STORY! THANKS SO MUCH; IT MEANS A LOT TO ME! REVIEW, REVIEW!! PLEASE AND THANK YOU! 


	4. Pink and Yellow Tulips

Disclaimer: I own Sam.  
  
The next morning, Rory woke up earlier than usual. She sat up in bed, in her pajamas, and started making a list of things she wanted to do that day.  
  
"Number one," she said to herself, "clean the house. Number two: go get laundry done. Number three: go out for a special breakfast. Number four: stop at the bookstore. Number five: go to the park. Number six: stop at the store to get ice cream and movies. All done."  
  
"Hey," said Sam, surprised, "I didn't know people were up at this ungodly hour."  
  
"Well, I thought that since it's my weekend I should plan a few things to do and actually enjoy this time away from hell (school)."  
  
Sam nodded as she pulled her robe tighter around herself and crossed her arms.  
  
"You feeling okay?" Sam asked.  
  
Rory breathed deeply and said, "Ya know, I think I'm doing fine. I mean, I'm doing better than I expected.."  
  
Sam nodded again as she said, "Well I hope you have a good day, I'm gonna go out for breakfast with Will, the guy I went out with not so long ago..."  
  
"Oh, I see, well have fun..."  
  
Sam waved Rory bye and Rory got out of bed.  
  
After Rory finished vacuuming, she rolled it up and stopped shortly to look out on her patio; saw how bare it was, so she decided that she wanted flowers out there. Rory made a note for that to be done later. In no time did Rory finish cleaning the apartment.  
  
When Rory finished doing laundry, she went back to her apartment to clean up for the rest of her day.  
  
It was about 10:41 when Rory finished and she checked her list. The next thing to do was to go out for breakfast.  
  
After breakfast Rory stopped off at the bookstore, she bought a few books that she thought she had but were somehow lost. The next thing was to go to the park. Driving down the road, she looked to her left and saw Central Park.  
  
"Nu- uh! After watching home alone 2, I don't want to go there!" she said to herself.  
  
She kept driving and came around to Washington Square Park. She was reluctant to go at first, but she was tired of driving and just wanted to sit on the grass. Rory parked her car and walked to a nicely flourished piece of ground with grass.  
  
She was lucky; she had a tree to give her shade. She sighed in a peaceful kind of way; she had found comfort. She pulled out one of the books she bought and started reading it. It happened to be 'Animal Farm', by George Orwell. She nearly got through half the book when she grew tired of reading so she put the book down.  
  
Glancing around the park she noticed how green the grass was and made a self comment about how rare it is to find such green grass. She pondered upon her last comment and said to herself, "Okay, goin' a little crazy there.."  
  
Her eyes roamed across the grass to a park bench and there sat lazily but HIM. All of the rage Rory had bottled up inside started to bubble again. He took a glimpse, away from his book in hand, of the park too and his eyes met hers.  
  
All the ire that was kept hushed inside of her was quite evident in her eyes, as the two exchanged silent glares.  
  
He wasn't too far away to shout to, but he wasn't too close either. Rory was rather thankful for this, because she didn't know what she would do if he were any closer to her. He stood to leave and started shaking his head.  
  
"Always running away!" Rory shouted to him.  
  
He turned around to face her; she was about 10 feet away. His eyes were burning with anger, as were hers.  
  
"Beats stickin' 'round here!" he said, shrugging it off.  
  
She started walking away when he yelled, "No one asked you to leave!"  
  
"Well no one asked me to stay either!" she shouted back  
  
"So stay!" he said, shrugging again.  
  
"I don't want to!" Rory shouted, crossing her arms.  
  
"Hey, it's a pretty big park, we can dominate different ends!..."  
  
"I'm fine thank you!" She said as she turned on her heel to leave.  
  
"Haven't changed at all!.." he shouted.  
  
"Thank you for the update, but neither have you.. genius.."  
  
Then all of a sudden, he started laughing!  
  
'Why the hell is he laughing?!' Rory asked herself.  
  
He was laughing hysterically. What is with this guy?!  
  
Rory looked around, wiped her face, and pulled back her hair.  
  
"Why are you laughing?" she asked him as she drew herself closer to the man who was practically rolling on the ground, laughing.  
  
This was not like him, he was not one to just burst out laughing in mid argument. Who is this?!  
  
"Get up! People are looking at you!" she hissed.  
  
As his laughing subsided, he stood to dust himself off.  
  
Rory crossed her arms, expecting one hell of a reason as to why he was laughing like a mad man.  
  
"I'm sorry, that was just too funny to resist!" he said, chuckling.  
  
"What...?" She asked, confused.  
  
"Just the two of us, arguing about who should stay or who should go... it was just too funny!" he said, the last line almost tasted like sarcasm.  
  
"Are you being sarcastic?" she asked, not sure if he really was.  
  
"No..." he said, almost sounding offended.  
  
"Oh, I could never tell if you were or not..."  
  
"Whatever.." he said going back to being angry.  
  
'and just when I thought that he wasn't being such a sour baby!' Rory said in her head.  
  
"What the hell are you? Bipolar?!" Rory shouted.  
  
He continued to walk away.  
  
"Wow, he really is...!" Rory said to herself, mockingly of course.  
  
She ran up to his side to stop him. She sighed as he looked at her expectantly.  
  
"Can we just... talk?....." she asked him.  
  
He stood there as if he were timing her.  
  
Just then a car drove by blasting Rooney's Sorry, Sorry: "I'm sorry sorry for making your life a living hell.."  
  
"Ironic, isn't it..." Rory said with her hands on her hips. She looked at Jess and he rolled his eyes.  
  
"What do you want from me?" he asked, agitation spilling from his lips.  
  
She grabbed held of his arm and said, "For you to say sorry.."  
  
Jess suddenly looked nervous, he was never one for apologizing; especially to a girl he once dated. But Rory was different, he didn't just date her, he loved her- loves her; he still loves her.  
  
He stared into her eyes and saw how much pain he had caused her. He knew how much pain he caused her, it was just actually seeing it for the first time that struck him down.  
  
He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked way off into the distance. The second he looked away, Rory pulled his face towards hers. He could still feel her touch on his check and sighed as it felt as though it seared his skin like acid.  
  
He looked her straight in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry... Really I am.... I never, ever; in an infinite amount of years, meant to hurt you.."  
  
Rory smiled a sad smile and he hugged her. Jess wasn't being like himself and part of her thought that this was a good thing and the other part didn't know what to think about it, or him. It took a while, but she hugged him back.  
  
Closing her eyes, his scent took her so back- back to the times when life wasn't so difficult and all you had to worry about was if you were going to fail your Spanish test or ace it. Opening her eyes to the present, she smiled as she thought, 'this is one test I aced..'  
  
He held her for the longest time and she was so comfortable in his arms. Everything sunk in so fast it was like a rush of blood to the head; she missed him so much. They both pulled away, but still holding onto each other. Jess smiled a sincere smile; something she had rarely seen in the past.  
  
He swept back the loose ends of her hair that danced around her face. The whole situation felt surreal; surreal in the sense that it felt like a fairy tale. Something that you could never in a thousand years dream about, but when you do dream about it, you want to hold on to it, tightly, because it's your dream and you had it for a reason and that reason is because you had it coming- almost like fate. There are certain times where life gives you a chance to choose your fate and sometimes it's taken completely out of your hands. But when you do get to choose your fate, you can only hope for the best and that's what Rory did, hope for the best.  
  
"Can I ask you something?" Rory said in a voice so soft that a mouse could hear her best. "Did you.. did you stop, you know.. loving me?"  
  
He smiled at her curiosity and said, "Rory, there wasn't a day where I stopped THINKING about you!"  
  
She smiled and hooked arms with him. She started guiding him down the sidewalk.  
  
"Hey do you have any plans as of right now?" Rory asked.  
  
"Not that I know of..." said Jess.  
  
"Do you maybe wanna come to a flower shop with me?"  
  
"Flowers?" Jess asked, completely confused.  
  
"Mm, for my patio. It looks really bare so I wanted to put flowers out on it.."  
  
"You do know that flowers require nurture right?"  
  
"Hey! How hard is it to water flowers everyday?"  
  
Jess looked questionably at her.  
  
"Well it isn't!" she said, defending herself.  
  
"Okay, okay," he said, putting his hands up in resistance.  
  
"To the flower shop?" she asked.  
  
"To the flower shop!" he said with determination.  
  
They waltzed down the sidewalk, abandoning the car and enjoying each other's presence, to the flower shop.  
  
When they came across one, Rory walked up to the front of the shop and saw that in a line were petunias, roses, lilies, gardenias, tulips, daisies, and so much more.  
  
The gardenias smelt beautiful; it would be hard to describe their scent. Jess came up behind her and lightly pressed the small of her back. His touch was so electrifying that she shot up, in an instant. She turned to face him and said, "What're your favorite flowers?"  
  
He looked deep in thought and responded with, "I don't think I have a favorite flower."  
  
"Hmm, well I suppose now is as good as any time to find out, right?"  
  
"I guess.." he said, nodding.  
  
She took hold of his hand and led him to the section of just the lilies. He stopped and looked at her. She said, "Your thoughts?"  
  
Jess took a step closer to the lilies, they were stunning; their colors meshed fantastically, but it wasn't worth the throne of favoritism.  
  
He stood straight and turned to face her.  
  
"The results?" she asked.  
  
"Not for me," he said, shrugging it off.  
  
Rory nodded and led him to the section just for tulips. Their bulb like figure was simple; yet displayed such elegance. The pastel colors were beautiful and Jess had decided that this was it; it was this one.  
  
"These, I like these!" said Jess.  
  
"Okay, okay! Calm down there!" said Rory, chuckling.  
  
Jess smiled, as did Rory. She said, "Pick a color.."  
  
".. pink and yellow."  
  
Rory said, "Hmm, very girly colors from a man such as yourself.."  
  
Jess stood straight and responded, "I'm not saying I like the colors, I'm saying it would suit you. Because that's why we're here, to pick out flowers for your patio."  
  
Rory nodded and said, "Ahuh, okay... Whatever you say...."  
  
Jess crossed his arms as Rory picked a pot of pink and yellow tulips. She walked back to the gardenias and said to Jess, "can you pick one of them up." He did and they walked to the cashier. Rory paid for the flowers and when she walked out of the shop with Jess in tow, they walked back to her car.  
  
After Rory had placed the flowers in her car, she turned to Jess and said, "So... What-a... what do we do now?.."  
  
"I.. (sigh). whatever you want."  
  
'Here we go again! Ladies and gentlemen, the world famous indecisive man!'  
  
"(Sigh) Jess, what do YOU want to happen?"  
  
"Honestly, I don't know.. I really don't know..."  
  
Rory nodded and said, "When you do know, I'll be at that tree over there everyday at 4 o' clock, waiting 'till next week Friday..."  
  
"An ultimatum?! That's rich, really that is!" Jess said.  
  
"Well, I'm not going to wait for forever, Jess!"  
  
"Fine!"  
  
"Fine!"  
  
With that he walked away and along with him he brought dismay (A/N: didn't mean for that to rhyme, hehe).  
  
Rory pulled herself into her car and sat there, just staring straight ahead at that tree. It would be a bittersweet road to unwind to, but if it were worth it to talk to him again, it would be worth it to wait.  
  
And so she did...  
  
HOOKAY, REVIEW TIME!! I WORKED HARD, AS DO MANY AUTHORS WHEN THEY MAKE A CHAPTER FOR THEIR STORY... SO PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!  
  
NEXT CHAPTER WILL FEATURE: JESS AT THE RESTAURANT HE WAS IN WHEN HE SAW RORY, REA WILL COME UP TO HIM TO TAKE HIS ORDER AND HE'LL BACK AWAY, FEARING VERBAL ABUSE.. THEN LATER, TRYIN NOT TO GET TO THE NITY GRITY OF THE DETAILS HERE, JESS COMES TO RORY'S SCHOOL WHERE SHE WORKS..MUCH DRAMA IS SUPPOSED TO BE INTENDED, IT MIGHT CHANGE THOUGH...... 


	5. The Rule of the Mind and Heart

Disclaimer: I own Sam and Rea.  
  
It was 7:45 and it was only the beginning of her class. She school regulated classes. She started with the seniors this time. Oh the seniors! Rory's eyes pounced around the room and watched the half assed lazy hooligans slouching, not even caring that they have a test that's being passed out and they didn't mind to study. Rory just shook her head as she passed the last set of tests.  
  
"Eyes on your paper, or I gauge them out myself!...... Begin......" she sounded so restless, lifeless. You could definitely tell she was dead tired, but that didn't stop her from teaching the future of our great nation.  
  
She opened her grade book and pulled out a stack of papers that needed to be graded, this was truly going to be a long day.  
  
"Hey Mickey! Where's that burger for table 4?!" screamed Reanne through the tiny peephole leading to the kitchen.  
  
"It ain't done yet!" Mickey yelled back.  
  
Mickey was well into his forties and it didn't look like he was lovin' it.  
  
Rea sighed and yelled, "Well get it done or we'll have an angry priest on our hands, and the last thing I need is a guilty conscience, or to be sent to hell."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," ol' Mickey muttered to himself.  
  
Rea turned back to the sea of hungry chaos. She noticed a man in the far corner contemplating on what to get. She walked over to him. As she got closer, she thought she knew him from somewhere, she just couldn't tell where.  
  
"What can I"- she stopped shortly, after she saw him whip his head towards her. Anger boiled beneath her skin, but who was she to get mad?  
  
Jess recoiled as far away from Rea as he possibly could. Her anger didn't get the best of her though, in fact, she sat down at the table with him.  
  
Jess scooted to the other side of the table and because of this, Rea laughed.  
  
"I'm not gonna hurt you, there's too many witnesses," Rea said, she whispered the last part to give it a full effect. His eyes went big as his head shifted from one direction to another.  
  
"Listen, if you really want to be with her, show her! Do something she'd never expect, you'd put yourself further into the race, so to speak," she said.  
  
Jess nodded and Rea jotted something down on her pad of paper. She passed it to Jess and from this, she received a confused look from him.  
  
"It's her home address, go find her," Rea soothingly said.  
  
He nodded. His silence was either a sign of insecurity or a sign of anxiousness. She took it as both. He immediately stood from his place and jogged out the door. Jess walked to the tall building and braced himself. He took in a deep breath and ran his fingers lightly through his hair; the least he could do was to look presentable.  
  
He walked into the building and up the elevator and to the door. He paused for about 2 minutes contemplating on the results that would accumulate from his spur of the moment decision to come.  
  
He pushed all thoughts away and knocked on the door. Jess counted the seconds until the door opened.  
  
1.......  
  
2.......  
  
3.......  
  
Swoosh..... There in the doorway, stood a flustered looking young woman, who immediately shot death glares his way. His mind got the best of him as he darted away from them, as if they were real. From this, the woman raised an eyebrow.  
  
Sam rushed her words, saying, "She's not home, go away!" all too fast and trying to slam the door.  
  
He stuck his foot between the left space and said, "Please, I'm not here to make enemies,"  
  
"Too late, good day!"  
  
"But!"-  
  
"I said good day!"  
  
Jess started laughing and it was because of his laughter that Sam had opened the door further and gave him an annoyed look.  
  
"Stop laughing!"  
  
"Sorry (laughter) can't help it! (Laughter) You took that line from That 70's Show (laughter)."  
  
"What's up with you and laughing at awkward moments?"  
  
Calming down, Jess said, "So she told you what happened yesterday," nervously as he placed his hands in his pockets.  
  
"Yes, she tells me everything!..... At least I hope she does...... Anyways, why are you here?!"  
  
"Because....."  
  
Annoyed, she motioned for him to continue.  
  
"Because I thought she'd be here,"  
  
"She works ya know! It's not like we live off of the money that grows on the trees!"  
  
"Really, 'cause everybody else is doin' it, why not you?!" Jess sarcastically spat out.  
  
"It's too much of a hassle!" Sam said, crossing her arms.  
  
"Well pardon me!"  
  
"Do you want something else or do you want to continue this ugly display of sarcasm where our nosey neighbors can hear us?"  
  
"Hmm, I think I'll take the one with the nosey neighbors," Jess said.  
  
Sam rolled her eyes and dragged his sorry butt (A/N: OH HOW CUTE IT IS!) into the apartment.  
  
"Hey!"-  
  
"No you listen, Rory loved you- loves you and you went and broke her heart eons ago, so if you really want to patch things up, I say you get rid of your smart ass mouth of yours!"  
  
"I like my smart ass mouth, thank you!"  
  
"Fine, but a stubborn ass! It's not like I care about you anyway! You matter to Rory not to me, keep it or not, but you seriously need to work on your attitude!"  
  
"My attitude? What about yours, ahem, 'She's not home, go away!' and trying to slam the door on me! That isn't a bad attitude?! Well, what the future has done to its people......"  
  
"Do you want me to have you committed, or will you just check yourself in?" Sam said.  
  
"Hey! That's my line!"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Nothing'," Jess softly said as he remembered when he had said that. It was to Luke when Luke had barged in through the door of the apartment, just when Jess was about to kiss Rory; it would've been their first real kiss as a newly couple.  
  
He shook the memory away and sighed, "Do you want my help or are you just gonna sarcastically blow your chances on your own?"  
  
"What're the chances that when you help me, she'll actually want me back?"  
  
"What're the chances that when you do it on your own, she'll actually want you back?" Sam replied, quite curtly.  
  
"Good point," he said, barely above a whisper, but good enough to hear.  
  
"Now, go and visit her at work, she'll be surprised but ask her to talk in private for a moment. Tell her- wait, are you sorry for what you did, and I mean truly sorry?"  
  
"Yes! Of course I am!"  
  
"Okay, so tell her how sorry you are, just make it up to her. Oh and gifts are always appreciated, small ones in cases like this at least."  
  
Jess nodded and then said, "Where does she work?"  
  
"(Sigh) Hell....." she got a questioning look from Jess so she continued with, "A school."  
  
He nodded again and Sam said, "So here's the address, and go before it's too late!"  
  
He took the tiny piece of paper and ran out the door. Sam sighed and collapsed on the couch.  
  
It didn't take long for Jess to reach the school. 'Man this is hell!' said thought to himself as he walked through the doors. He went to the administration and found that it was a tiny ass room with a fan on a hefty woman working on a bunch of papers.  
  
It was as if her mouth dropped to the floor at the sight of Jess. She fanned herself and rubbed her eyes. She reminded him of Ms. Patty; he shuddered at that thought.  
  
"Can I help you?" the woman kindly asked.  
  
"Uh yea, I'm looking for Rory Gilmore, could you tell me where she is?"  
  
Flipping through file papers, she found Rory's folder and took out a list of classes and their times. She glanced over the sheet and said, "She has a class right now, but you're welcome to sit through it, I'm sure she wont mind, she'll probably need a break from the little ruffians."  
  
Jess nodded and the woman wrote down on a piece of paper which room she was in and he was off. 'Geez, what's with woman and jotting this down on tiny pieces of paper! Just tell it to me!' he thought to himself.  
  
He soon found himself lost. Spinning around and around in circles he grew tired. A woman who looked late into her 50's approached him.  
  
"Can I help you?" she asked.  
  
"Yea, can you tell me where this is."  
  
"Sure," she looked at the paper, then at her surroundings and said, "Down to the end of the hall, make a left and the 3rd room should be it," she said.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"No problem.  
  
The woman walked in the opposite direction, leaving Jess alone. He walked to the end of the hall, made a left, passed one- two doors and stopped before the 3rd. He looked back at the original paper then at the door number. This was it all right. His insides were churning in anticipation. The longer he waited, the longer the anxiety took over him.  
  
He took in a breath and walked to the door. Rory was in mid lesson when she noticed the heads of her students turning towards the door. Agitated by the distraction to her teaching, she too looked towards the door. Her eyes gaped open, as she stood frozen. Her eyes rushed back at the class who incredulously gazed at her. Squinting her eyes at them, she hastily ran to the door.  
  
She opened it just a little and whispered, "What're you doing here?!"  
  
"I came here to see you," he whispered back.  
  
"I have a class!"  
  
"I can see that," he replied, trying to be cool about this whole situation.  
  
She sighed and looked back at her sophomores who snottily glared at her. She rolled her eyes and led him in.  
  
"Sit in the back," she whispered.  
  
Retreating towards the front of the classroom, she continued with her discussion on The Catcher in the Rye. She was explaining to them about how mentally unstable Holden is and how he runs away from everything.  
  
"He looks at children and he sees a wave of innocence and the when he sees the graffiti on the walls it breaks his heart that children in that school would see that so he rubs it off. In other cases such as page 104-bottom paragraph, it shows what a pessimistically somber character he plays."  
  
It looked as though half her class had fallen asleep so she took her meter stick and slammed it against the board, causing the whole class to ruffle in their seats. She sighed and said, "Come on! If you wanna pass my class you listen to the lectures, it's a key factor for the tests in case you haven't noticed!"  
  
"No we hadn't noticed!" shouted a kid from the back, "We're too busy falling asleep," he whispered.  
  
"Hey! You sleep on your own time, in my class you focus or you fail! It's your decision!"  
  
He sighed as he slumped back in his chair.  
  
"And Tommy," Rory called to the kid who shouted, "One more outburst like that and you'll be sent to the office! I don't have time for you witty antics!"  
  
"Whatever," was all he muttered.  
  
The whole time, Jess's eyes had been flitting from the kid named Tommy and back to Rory. He was truly shocked at how these kids acted.  
  
Continuing with her discussion, Rory said, "A case of insecurity is when he had tried to make phone calls to Jane, but never followed through with them, thinking of all the bad things that could happen if he had risked that chance. Holden is guy who runs away from problems, only to find that they get worse," she said the last part and looked Jess' way. He instantly looked into space.  
  
She was about to say something when Jess shouted, "He runs away because he can't deal with the things around him!"  
  
She right away sent him angry glares.  
  
"Well he also runs away because he's internally scared!"  
  
The class's eyes went from Jess to Rory and back again.  
  
"Yea because he didn't have any kind of adult figure to look up to when he was younger!" Jess shouted back.  
  
"You made be right, there, but in any case he didn't even make an effort with school- with friends- with the people that care about him! He thought they were all phonies!"  
  
The class finally got that the discussion wasn't about the book anymore, but about these two people's problems.  
  
"He may have thought they were phonies, but it was purely because most of them were!"  
  
"Yeah, well how do you explain his sporadic decisions and his god forsaken moody behavior?!"  
  
"You moved off the subject!" Jess shouted.  
  
"I know, I didn't have anything to say about that!" she admitted as she yelled back at him.  
  
"Because I was right! Most of the people around him were fake, phonies!"  
  
"Whose class is this?!"  
  
"Psh!" he said, as he slouched in his chair and looked away.  
  
The bell rang and all eyes were on her, she was just about ready to cry but she noticed that they all sat still.  
  
"Homework is to study pages 98 to 123. Quiz tomorrow, be prepared...." Rory said, her voice was shaky and she whispered, "Class dismissed......" they slowly stood and hurriedly walked out the door.  
  
Rory sat at the chair in the front of the room and Jess sat at the very end of the room, opposite of her.  
  
She sobbed softly as she curled up on the desk. Jess got out of the chair and walked to her.  
  
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I know that hearing that phrase is so tiring that it's completely lost its meaning, but I mean it......"  
  
She still sobbed, holding herself. He went around the desk and held her. She fell into his arms and she let him hold her.  
  
The rule of the mind is the rule of the heart, in times of fear and times of hate; the bristle of redemption will sweep you up and carry you away.  
  
HOOKAY, TIME TO REVIEW!!!! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!!! I WORKED REALLY HARD ON THIS CHAPTER! I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT THIS CHAPTER, SO REVIEW! PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!! 


	6. A Faultless Twist

Disclaimer: I own no one in this chapter.  
  
"Please say something," asked Jess, after her lapse of silence murdered their emotions.  
  
"I think I need time......" Rory whispered.  
  
"Totally understandable," Jess said as he rubbed her back.  
  
He stood up to slowly leave. Rory stayed a while, just thinking. Soon enough, she got up to go too. When she made it to the front of her building, she stopped to dig through her handbag for her apartment keys. She stood before the stoop of the building and searched for them.  
  
"Excuse me," said a man, trying to pass by her, but couldn't, seeing as she was right smack in the middle of the sidewalk.  
  
"Oh sorry," she said, moving for him.  
  
"Why Mary, how nice to see you," said the man.  
  
"I'm not Ma—Tristin?!" Rory exclaimed, after turning to face him.  
  
"The one and only!"  
  
Rory stood there with both hands in her bag and her eyes practically popping out of their sockets in shock at the sight of Tristin. She panicked, she didn't want him to see the ratty dump of a home she had!  
  
"This where you live?" He asked.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Just wanted to know," he responded, chuckling at her behavior.  
  
"So what if it is?"  
  
"Then I could maybe come up and we could talk, you know catch up?"  
  
"Ha! Fat chance! There is no way in hell that I would let you come up to my crappy ass home!"  
  
"Why Mary, I don't like the tone you're taking with me!"  
  
"Tristin? This is the way I've always talked to you."  
  
"No, at least back in high school, you had a tad more sympathy for me."  
  
"You'd like to think that wouldn't you! I pitied you!"  
  
"Yeah, but that's basically the same thing as sympathy," Tristin said, as a devilish side- glance sneer made its way across his face.  
  
Rory just rolled her eyes.  
  
"Okay, okay, how bout' coffee?" Tristin offered.  
  
"Fine, only 'cause I can not refuse an offer with coffee in it; it's a Gilmore rule....."  
  
"Well then I guess every offer should have coffee included...." Tristin suggested, as he wiggled his eyebrows.  
  
"You do know what happens when you flatter yourself too much don't you?"  
  
"No, what?" Tristin asked, leaning closer to her.  
  
"Your ego gets bigger!" she said as she used the palm of her hand to push back his head.  
  
He slightly fell back, but regained control.  
  
Nervously he laughed, "You're funnier than you were in high school, you know that?"  
  
"No, but thanks for telling me! So, coffee?"  
  
"Coffee!"  
  
They walked to a coffee shop and sat for about an hour or two just talking.  
  
"God you are so conceited!" cried Rory.  
  
"Am not! I seriously thought she wanted my autograph!"  
  
"Whatever!"  
  
They shared a moment of laughter.  
  
Rory glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "I really should get going, I have work tomorrow......."  
  
Tristin nodded and said, "Can I call you or........"  
  
"Um, yea I guess," Rory said as she wrote down her number on a napkin.  
  
He took it and smiled as he gave her his business card and wrote on the back of it his home number.  
  
"Okay, so I'll talk to you soon?" Tristin asked.  
  
"Soon," Rory said with a nod.  
  
"Okay, see ya........."  
  
"Bye," Rory said as she turned to walk home.  
  
The next day was a lull. Rory didn't feel like being a teacher anymore. She truly hated her job. The day felt a little too long and when she got home, she was totally exasperated.  
  
Just then, the phone rang; and it rang and rang and rang, but she didn't want to pick it up. She let the machine get it.  
  
"Rory? Hey it's me Tristin, just calling to see if"-  
  
"Hello?" Rory answered into the phone.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Can we move past the greetings?"  
  
"Sure. Um how are you?" Rory asked.  
  
"Well I'm the same as I was yesterday, and you?" Tristin asked, laughing quietly.  
  
"Oh, yea..... Well, honestly? I'm tired! I hate my job and this place sucks!"  
  
"That bad huh?"  
  
"Yeah....." she quietly answered.  
  
"Well are you busy on Friday?"  
  
"I don't think so," she said lying back on the bed.  
  
"So would you like to go out to dinner with me? My treat......."  
  
"Hmm, tempting......"  
  
"I can woo you with my humor," Tristin offered.  
  
"Oh you don't hafta woo me with your humor! I can just look at you and laugh, Tristin!"  
  
"Wow, New York has definitely made the small town princess quite the funny one!"  
  
"Indeed it has," Rory said, playing with the phone's curled cord, twisting it and untwisting it.  
  
"So, what do you say? Dinner?"  
  
"I suppose so, seeing as I don't have anything better to do....."  
  
"Well it's nice to know that dinner with me was an option," Tristin said, smirking.  
  
"It is isn't it?"  
  
"Funny, funny!"  
  
"Just trying to keep you and your ego in check, now."  
  
"And a fine job you're doing at it!"  
  
"So Friday....."  
  
"Yes Friday, I'll pick you up, you'll look nice, smell nice- be nice! Um, and we'll have dinner."  
  
"Sounds good to me!"  
  
"Great so I'll pick you up at, does 7 sound good?"  
  
"Yes, 7 is fine."  
  
"Great, so 7 it is....... Friday, 7 o' clock....."  
  
"Perfect, so till then."  
  
"Till then, bye Rory......."  
  
"Goodbye Tristin........"  
  
The line went dead and Rory slipped the receiver back into its holder.  
  
Friday at 7 o'clock, dinner with Tristin...... now this would truly become a historic event.  
  
When Friday rolled around, Rory was actually looking forward to having dinner with Tristin. In a few minutes he would arrive, so she grabbed her Jimmy Choo's and waited in the living room. She worse a black lengthy dress that flattered her curves and had a bow in the center.  
  
Soon Tristin came knocking on her door. She opened it and smiled.  
  
"You look nice," Tristin said with wonderment.  
  
"Thanks, you too," Rory said as she started walking.  
  
Tristin took Rory to a semi classy place that had wonderful service.  
  
After dinner, Tristin and Rory went for a walk through Washington Square Park. It wasn't that late and Tristin felt that they should carry out the night as long as they could.  
  
"It's such a nice night," commented Rory.  
  
"Yeah, it is," said Tristin.  
  
Rory inhaled the icy air and smiled.  
  
They both kept walking, just enjoying the others company until Rory saw Jess, sitting at a park bench, reading. Her heart felt heavier and it became harder to walk. Rory motioned for Tristin to follow her and so he did.  
  
"Hey, Jess," said Rory, trying to keep things cool.  
  
"Rory," said Jess, as he put his book in hand down and glanced up. He noted the fact that she wasn't alone and this made him feel awkward.  
  
"Uh Jess this is Tristin, Tristin this is Jess," said Rory.  
  
Both shook hands and shoveled out a, "Hi," to each other.  
  
The silence encased their surroundings making the situation uncomfortable each and every second.  
  
"Tristin went to my high school," Rory mumbled to Jess.  
  
He just nodded. Rory looked into his eyes, he looked somewhat pained and so distant.  
  
"Um, we'll be right back," said Rory grabbing Tristin by the arm and pulling him away.  
  
"Rory?" Tristin asked.  
  
"I'm sorry Tristin,"  
  
He shook his head and said, "It's okay." He too looked pained. Wow two in one night.  
  
"Um, call me?"  
  
"Sure," said Tristin walking away. She stood there, watching his retreating figure disappear into the night.  
  
What had happened was unclear, but could it be that she had feelings for Tristin? Yes, she had, but her heart belonged to Jess. And her heart would remain with Jess.  
  
"Hey," Jess whispered, coming up from behind her.  
  
She whipped around and smiled. "Hey," she replied.  
  
"Bad date?"  
  
"No, I just....... I didn't want him around....... so that I could do this," Rory said, inching closer to him; he didn't stop her.  
  
Slowly she brought her hands to cup his face. Her delicate fingers stroked the side of his rugged cheek. Her lips fell heavily into place. They glided against his and opened for the entrance of his tongue. She too slid her tongue in and let it swoosh ever so gracefully against his. Her hands traveled to his back and up to his hair. His hands took comfort on the small of her back, pulling her closer and closer to him. The kisses were soft and chaste at first, but grew passionate and full of longing soon enough.  
  
Pulling a part, momentarily, both took a breath. Both leaned against the other, his forehead against hers and both breathing deeply. She smiled and leaned in to kiss him again; he responded and put a little more into the kiss.  
  
The weights had been lifted and the loneliness fled. Salvation was here, in their kiss, in their hearts, all around them.  
  
It soon started to snow. Everything felt perfect and in its place. The snow softly drizzled from the sky, creating a faultless twist to the end of her night.  
  
They both parted and held the others hand. They started walking down the pathway, just letting the snow drown them in a sea of perfection. The darkness of the night encircled their devotion for each other, as they swayed heavenly through the falling snow.  
  
OKAY, TIME TO REVIEW!! PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!! I LOVED AL THE ONES I GOT FOR CHAPTER 5, THEY REALLY MEAN A LOT TO ME...... THANKS AGAIN TO ALL WHO READ THIS, HMM.... YEA, SO PLEASE REVIEW!! 


	7. No Room For Worry

Disclaimer: I don't have anything to do with the WB.  
  
The next day Rory woke up feeling refreshed. She was happy about how nicely things went last night. It was an absolutely perfect ending, or beginning; the kisses, the snow- just everything was perfect.  
  
It was Saturday now and Rory decided to get up early, as early as she could get up, for a full day of shopping with Sam and Rea.  
  
There was a knock on the door and Rory ran to answer it.  
  
"Hey," Rory said, greeting Reanne as she stepped in.  
  
"Hey," Rea responded. "So you guys ready?"  
  
"Umm we're still waiting on Sam," said Rory.  
  
"Ready!" Sam shouted coming out from her bedroom.  
  
"Let's roll!" said Rea.  
  
The two gave her a funny faces and she said, "I promise to never say that again......"  
  
The three walked out of the apartment and began their quest. Upon doing so, Rory noticed a man who had had his eye on them for a while now.  
  
"Guys?" Rory spoke as they turned on Madison Avenue, "there's a man across the street who hasn't only been watching us, but following us too!"  
  
All three subtly looked across the street, but there was no starring man. Sam raised her eyebrows and said, "You're being paranoid....."  
  
Rory looked back across the street and yelled to them, "I'm not being paranoid, I truly saw a man following us!"  
  
"Hmm, lets get coffee," Rea said.  
  
"Only, none for you," Sam said to Rory.  
  
Rory rolled her eyes and said, "Fine, don't believe me!"  
  
"Come on," said Rea, leading Rory into the coffee shop.  
  
They all grabbed a coffee to go, including Rory despite Sam and Rea's protests, and walked back out the door.  
  
"Where are we now?" Rea asked.  
  
"Mm, Madison Avenue, for the finer things in life," said Rory.  
  
Rea nodded and sipped her coffee.  
  
"To your left, we see FAO Schwarz and to your right, we see Baccarat," Sam said; she sounded like a tour guide and from this she received eye rolls from both Rory and Rea.  
  
"Further up we see both Calvin Klein and DKNY, shall we?" Sam asked, pointed at the stores.  
  
"We shall!" yelled Rea.  
  
They walked inside DKNY and went browsing. Rory never liked this kind of clothing, but she was honestly interested to see how much the models looked like walking toothpicks. Rory was walking around the front of the store and looked out the glass window, only to find that that same man was watching them. She freaked out and quickly walked over to Sam and Rea who were in the back.  
  
"You guys! That man is watching us!!" she hissed.  
  
Sam rolled her eyes and said, "show me," so Sam led Rory to the front where she previously was and said, "I don't see him."  
  
Rory heatedly looked out the window.  
  
Frustration had hit her hard.  
  
Sam sighed and walked back to where she was before. Rory continued to stand by the window, waiting for the man to show his sneaky face.  
  
He didn't.  
  
Rory just dropped the whole thing and joined Sam and Rea.  
  
They soon left the store to continue walking down the street, window- shopping.  
  
The three continued walking and it was up until they had reached Coach, Sam turned to her right to see a man across the street watching and following them.  
  
"Oh my god, Rory you were right!" Sam whispered. She didn't dare look back across the street.  
  
Rea tilted her head a little to her right and saw that there was in fact a man watching and following them.  
  
"Okay, okay don't panic. The last thing we need is a worrywart......" said Sam.  
  
"Oh god, oh god, oh god," Rea kept repeating this over and over and over so Sam stopped her and shook her heavily as she said, "Get a hold of yourself! We need you to stay focused!"  
  
"Right, focused!" Rea said, "Focus!" she repeated to herself.  
  
"I know I'll call Jess!" Rory said.  
  
"Why would you do that?" Sam asked.  
  
Rory blushed and said, "I'll tell you later," Sam then raised her eyebrows causing Rory to blush even more; regardless of the situation they were in.  
  
Rory pulled out her cell phone inconspicuously and called Jess.  
  
Two rings  
  
"Hello?" Jess asked.  
  
"Jess!" Rory whispered.  
  
"Rory!" Jess said, in the same tone Rory used.  
  
"Oh my god Jess, we need your help!" Rory said.  
  
"We?" he asked.  
  
"Sam and Rea," she responded.  
  
"Oh, how may I be of service?"  
  
"Jess I need you to get to Madison Avenue."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Would you come if I told you that there was someone following us?"  
  
"Are you serious?!"  
  
"Jess, no time here!!"  
  
"Right, um where are you now?"  
  
Rory looked around to find that they had walked a block and passed Valentino. Crossing the street she said, "I'm right by Armani."  
  
"Good, go inside and stay around a large crowd of people," Jess said.  
  
"Okay and Jess?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"HURRY!"  
  
They both hung up their phones and Rory turned to Sam and Rea and said, "Okay the best thing to do right now is to act normal, we're gonna walk into Armani and stay around a large group of people, Jess should be here anytime soon."  
  
"Any time soon?! Why not now?! Rory we have a stalker on our hands and all I CAN do is NOT act normal!"  
  
"Well try!" Rory shouted.  
  
They walked into Armani and the man walked across the street.  
  
"Rory," Rea whispered loudly, "He crossed the street!! We can't stay here!"  
  
"We have to, Jess is picking us up here!!" Rory whispered back.  
  
"Jess wont need to pick us up if he finds that we're gone because of that stalker!!!" Rea whispered back.  
  
"Fine! Hurry, hurry, lets go!!" Rory said, shooing them out.  
  
They rushed down the street like true New Yorkers and walked 2 blocks from Armani and wound up and Peter Fox.  
  
Sam turned around and saw that the man was nowhere to be found.  
  
The three of them joined her by turning around and Sam said, "Guess we lost him." they turned around and there he was!!  
  
"Guess not," the man snickered.  
  
Rory's heart beat furiously and her mind raced to all these different scenarios. What would happen to them?? Too late to ask because the man glowered at the three of them and said, "If you walk quietly across the street, no one will get hurt."  
  
Rory gulped and said nothing; they all just started walking.  
  
The man stood in back of them telling them which way to go.  
  
From Peter Fox, they turned around and started walking back, the way they came in. They had had to walk for about111 blocks before they turned on 57th Street where they then took a turn on the corner where Chanel is and stopped, waiting for the man to tell them where to go next.  
  
On the outside Rory looked completely calm for a situation like this, but inside she was going crazy!  
  
'What about Jess!! He's gonna call me when he finds out that I'm not at Armani!!' Rory thought.  
  
The man had come around them to look directly into their scared eyes.  
  
"Call a cab," he simply said.  
  
"Why?" Sam asked.  
  
Rea and Rory look with wide eyes at her. Why would she do anything to provoke him?! Who knows what he can do in public!  
  
The man snidely responded with, "Cause I asked you to!" in his New York accent.  
  
"Where are we going?" she asked again.  
  
'Good god she's gonna get us killed!'  
  
The man was getting irritated with her, Rory could tell, "To a place!" he responded, anger rising in his voice.  
  
"Can you be more vague?!" Sam curtly replied.  
  
The man had had enough, he pulled her up to his face and he said, "Yeah, I can! Now if ya value your life at all, you'll shut up!"  
  
That was it.  
  
Sam was quiet.  
  
'We sure met the end of our tunnel, no more stalling because death, most likely, awaits us.'  
  
When the man turned around, Rory put her phone on vibrate as she hung it on her thigh length stalkings and in between her legs, so you couldn't see the bump.  
  
Just as she finished doing so, a cab had pulled up.  
  
The three, plus the man, stepped in. The man told the driver to pull into an ally way.  
  
The driver asked, "Why?"  
  
And the man responded, "So you can get out."  
  
The driver, as if he knew what was going on complied with the mans wishes and took him to an ally way where he then stepped out. In the drivers seat was now the creepy man.  
  
It was kind of a long drive but they wound up somewhere in SoHo.  
  
Rory really couldn't tell; she was waiting for Jess to call her.  
  
Just then, her phone vibrated. Sam and Rea looked at her shaking leg.  
  
Rory slyly pulled the phone out from between her legs and opened it. There was a text message that read: Where are you?? You said Armani!  
  
Rory quietly, but slowly responded with: go to SoHo, quick! He's taken us there!  
  
She waited for Jess's response and so Rory glanced up and out the window. The man glanced back at the three and snickered.  
  
"Almost there," he said.  
  
"Woopi!" Sam replied, under her breath.  
  
Jess replied: SoHo?! What street are you on?  
  
Rory looked out the window and said: we stopped; we're on the corner of Greene Street and Prince Street, Jess hurry!!  
  
He responded but Rory couldn't look, she had to shove the phone back on the inside of her leg, where he wouldn't see it- so she would hope (A/N: if ya know what I mean....... If you don't, that's okay).  
  
The man turned to face the three petrified women and said, "Out."  
  
They obeyed his command and got out. Rory looked at the building in front of her. It didn't look very promising.  
  
The building was painted a dingy kind of color. The man walked to the front of the door, opened it with ease and motioned for them to come in. They did so, and looked back at the entire world outside.  
  
The man led them up a few stairs and to a flat. It apparently had one bedroom and absolutely no furniture. There were bottles of whiskey and vodka all over the floor, accompanied by boxes of old pizza.  
  
"Sit!" the man screeched at the three, as he pointed on an even more dingy colored couch.  
  
But they sat.  
  
And they waited.  
  
Why?  
  
Why them?  
  
These questions were too simple- too simple for even the mind to understand.  
  
It was beyond reason.  
  
But it wasn't fate.  
  
It was worse than fate.  
  
It was destiny.  
  
Or was it?  
  
One would have to wait and find out.  
  
But now, now you worry.  
  
But even then, there's no room for worry.  
  
So you wait.  
  
REVIEW!!!! AHH OMIGOSH IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING FOR THIS CHATPER!!! IT WAS HARD TO WRITE, SO PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!! PLEASE AND THANK YOU!! 


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